


bad desire

by Smudge



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, and bret's smarmy face, and i'm not mad about it, and is the cheesiest jug i've ever written, betty is a good girl, i don't know what happened but my 50's au has an 80's vibe, listen, pining Jughead, plus a little light smut, so roll with it everyone, what we have going on here is:, who is a vaguely unreliable narrator, who is either gonna hit him or kiss him, with appearances by veronica
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:14:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22486171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smudge/pseuds/Smudge
Summary: Jughead groaned, annoyed. “Yeah, whatever. Go to school any—” He’s cut off by the sight of a blonde with a swinging ponytail walking by him and he turns his head to follow her as she moves past him.“Don’t even bother, Jug,” Jellybean offered with an amused smile.“What? Why?”“She’s not for you.”“You don’t know that.”Jellybean rolled her eyes at him. “I do. Betty Cooper is a real nice girl—”“I like nice girls,” he interjected, trying to find a blonde ponytail through the crowd.“Yeah, well,” Jellybean started, popping her gum once more before starting in the direction of the middle school, “so does her boyfriend.”Or, Jughead has a bad desire.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 65
Kudos: 354





	bad desire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SunlitGarden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunlitGarden/gifts).



> Hello! Welcome back. Unless you’re new here. Then, uh, just you know, welcome in general. Though, to be fair, I’m not sure why anyone new would be reading my disasters. 
> 
> Eh, live dangerously I always say. 
> 
> (I do not say that, I have never even gotten a traffic ticket, I am very safety oriented) 
> 
> Anyways! Some housekeeping before you continue: I worked a prompt in here. It’s very obvious and I’m not sorry about it. And I’m not sure I did what the asker wanted but I always have to go with my gut and my gut was like, first, feed me but also, this works. So I ran with it. Also, Betty does have a boyfriend but that poor fool is nameless, faceless, and truly pointless. Totally offscreen if that’s a thing that might yuck your yum. 
> 
> Oh, and the most important part- this is for SunlitGarden because of her newfound crush on a young Bruce Springsteen and [this song](https://open.spotify.com/track/3PzsbWSQdLCKDLxn7YZfkM?si=5VgxNyv2Q3yByU0pqvw6sw). And this is the mess it inspired. 
> 
> Enjoy, lovelies!

**August**

“You’re going to live with your dad and sister, Jughead, and that’s final.” 

Horrified, Jughead felt the blood drain from his face. “Mom, no—” 

“I don’t want to hear it,” his mom cut in with a wave of her hand. “You almost brought the cops to my door. Again. All because you’re too impulsive.” 

“I was trying to help. Penny threatened you!” 

Gladys sat next to him on their old sofa. “I know. I know you were. And I know she did. But you can’t keep popping off like that whenever you’re trying to prove a point and I don’t want you to fight my battles for me. You need to learn patience, Jug.” 

“And you think sending me to Dad and Jelly is gonna teach me that?” 

“I think it’s a good start. You can come back after you graduate.”

“What about you? You want me to leave you here alone?” 

“I’m not alone, Jug, I have our crew, I’ve got the business,” she told him, taking off his beanie to ruffle his hair. “Without you around to make me go gray, I might even have time to find a man.” 

“Gross, Mom,” he groaned, tossing the beanie she’d handed him onto the scratched wood of the coffee table. 

Sending him an amused smile, she leaned back and kicked her feet up on the table. “You can take your bike if you want. But you gotta promise to go straight to Riverdale, no detours.” 

“Riverdale,” he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “There’s nothing to do there and Dad’s the Sheriff of all things.” 

“I know,” Gladys agreed, looking over at him. “No trouble for you to get into.” 

“Wanna bet?” 

She ignored his quip. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll find a nice girl and become respectable while you’re there.” 

“Doubtful,” Jughead huffed, trying to ignore the feeling of dread creeping up his spine. 

* * *

**September**

Jughead was slow to get off his bike. The first day at a new school had never been his idea of a good time, especially after being sent to live with his father and little sister. He was comfortable in Ohio. Or, as comfortable as one could be with minimal friends and a mother who ran a chop shop. 

“Hey loser!” he heard yelled in a voice he’d know anywhere and he groaned, turning around. 

“What, Jellybean?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you doing here?” 

“My school is right there, doofus,” she told him, popping the wad of gum in her mouth and pointing across the street. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t try and skip town and go back to Mom.” 

“I’m here, aren’t I?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Jellybean grumbled, tucking her skateboard under her arm. “You even showed up on your motorcycle. You’re a real badass.” 

“Go to school, Jelly.” 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” his little sister snapped, glaring at him. 

“Fine.” He smiled at her, putting all his weight on one leg and crossed his arms. “I’ll tell Dad you’re hanging out on the high school campus and then he’ll tell you to go to school.” 

“You wouldn’t dare,” Jellybean argued, dropping her skateboard to the ground, rolling it back and forth under her with one foot. “He wouldn’t believe you anyway. I’m the good one, remember?” 

Jughead groaned, annoyed. “Yeah, whatever. Go to school any—” He’s cut off by the sight of a blonde with a swinging ponytail walking by him and he turns his head to follow her as she moves past him. 

“Don’t even bother, Jug,” Jellybean offered with an amused smile. 

“What? Why?” 

“She’s not for you.” 

“You don’t know that.” 

Jellybean rolled her eyes at him. “I do. Betty Cooper is a real nice girl—” 

“I like nice girls,” he interjected, trying to find a blonde ponytail through the crowd. 

“Yeah, well,” Jellybean started, popping her gum once more before starting in the direction of the middle school, “so does her boyfriend.” 

* * *

He saw her at the front of the classroom, sitting with her back straight and ankles crossed properly under the desk, a slow smile lifting his lips when she looked up, meeting his eyes when he walked through the door. 

“Forsythe?” the teacher called, stopping him from walking up to her. 

With a wince at the name, he turned and nodded at the older woman whose name he hadn’t bothered to learn after the secretary in the front office had given him his schedule. 

“Jughead, if you don’t mind,” he said, taking the book she’d held out for him. 

She gave him a tight smile, pointing over his shoulder. “Jughead it is, then. Take a seat.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

Heading towards the back of the classroom, he stopped next to Betty’s desk, knocking on it lightly with his knuckles. She looks up at him and he took a moment to take her in. Her pristine white shirt and polished saddle shoes are a stark contrast to the worn leather of his boots and jacket. Her buttons were done all the way up to her neck and the starched cotton fabric was tucked tightly into the pale pink fabric of her skirt. Eyes green enough to need their own specific shade of the color, he let his breath catch while waiting for her to speak. 

“Yes?” 

Her voice washed over him, sending a thrill down his spine. 

He flashed her a bright smile. “Just wanted to hear what your voice sounds like, doll.” 

“And are you satisfied?” 

Jughead leaned down after pocketing the pencil that had been sitting on her desk before he whispered, “Immensely.” 

The pink that had spread across her cheeks was worth the dirty look the teacher had sent him as she cleared her throat and told him to pick a seat that wasn’t already taken. 

If someone had asked him later what had happened after that in his math class, he wouldn’t have been able to tell them. He’d spent the hour staring at the back of Betty’s head, daydreaming and ignoring the glare of some blonde prep who’d been sitting across from her. Sharing three other classes with Betty hadn’t helped things, he discovered. 

He hadn’t seen any guy carrying her books. The mysterious boyfriend had yet to make an appearance. Watching her fiddle with the lock on her locker, he sidled up next to her, slipping the book out of her arms into his own. 

“I’m out of pencils, Mr. Jones,” she said in irritation, opening the lock and holding her hand out expectantly for the book he’d taken. 

“You got any pens?” 

She huffed, her face pinched in irritation. “What are you doing?” 

“I thought it was obvious.” 

“You’re trying to annoy me?” 

“I think they call it flirting, Betty, but I can see how one might confuse them.” 

“I have a boyfriend, you know,” she informed him, taking the book out of his hands and gripping it tightly to her chest. 

“I heard.” Jughead shrugged and looked around. “I don’t see him, though. Maybe you made him up.” 

“Are you serious?” she sputtered angrily at him, slamming her locker closed. “You flirt with me then accuse me of lying?” 

He couldn’t help the smile he gave her. “I just wanted to see some of that fire I knew you had to be full of.” 

She lifted her chin, glaring at him with pursed lips. “Keep your flirting to yourself, Mr. Jones.” 

“Why would I do that?” 

“If you don’t, all that fire you’re looking for? I’ll let you have it,” she threatened, pushing her way past him. 

Falling back against the lockers, he laughed and called out to her back, “Promise?”

* * *

**October/November/December**

Jughead was disheartened to find out that Betty did, in fact, have a boyfriend. Some jock who was a year older and already in his first year of college on a football scholarship. They’d been dating since the beginning of Betty’s junior year and had promised to stay together forever. 

He rolled his eyes at that. Mostly because he didn’t know why someone would willingly leave a girl like Betty behind and also because he’d never met a jock he’d been able to trust farther than he could have thrown them. 

Between avoiding most of the student body, trying to flirt with Betty, ignore the dirty looks from Veronica Lodge, and the clumsy attempts at friendship from Archie Andrews, the only obstacle he kept running into was Bret Weston Wallis. 

It seemed like he was always around, much to Jughead’s dismay. 

If he was talking to Betty, there was Bret with a disgusted look on his face. If he managed to sit next to her at lunch, he could feel the heat of Bret’s stare. He only lasted about two weeks before asking Betty what his problem was. 

“Oh,” Betty said, turning to look over her shoulder at Bret sitting a couple tables away, “the only person who’s asked me out more than you is him.” 

“How come I never see you talk to him then?” Jughead smiled and nudged her playfully. “Or is it because you can’t resist me?” 

Betty snorted a laugh, covering her mouth with her hands at the noise, shaking her head. “No.” 

“Then what’s his problem?” 

“I don’t know,” she replied. “His family is important and I think he thinks I’d be a good accessory.” 

“What? Like a trophy?” 

“Like a decoration.” 

Jughead winked, leaning closer. “Well, you do make whatever room you’re in look better.” 

“Shut up.” 

* * *

He ends up being cornered by Bret more than once over the fall, brushing off numerous passive aggressive comments until he finds him alone in the parking lot one day in November. 

“She’s never going to go for you. You know that, don’t you?” 

His head falls back, despondently. “What’s that, Wallis? I couldn’t hear you over my own apathy about your existence.” 

“Ha-ha-ha, Jones,” he snapped out, glowering at him. “I know your daddy is the Sheriff but that can’t protect you.” 

Jughead huffed a laugh. “Protect me? From what? You?” 

“You know who my father is, don’t you?” 

“Yeah,” Jughead agreed, reaching for his helmet. “And I don’t care.” 

“You should.” 

“Why?” he asked, swinging a leg over the bike and gripping the handle bars. “You gonna pull up my permanent record?” 

Bret sent him a sarcastic smile. “Something like that.” 

Jughead pulled the helmet over his head, buckling it with a chuckle. “Good luck with that.” 

“Stay away from Betty,” Bret warned with a glare. “That boyfriend of hers isn’t going to last and I’ve got plans for her.” 

“You know she’s her own person, right?” 

Bret shrugged. “Sure.” 

“She’s never gonna go for you, with an attitude like that,” Jughead told him, kicking the engine on, drowning out whatever reply Bret had for him and he peeled out of the parking lot, never looking back. 

He didn’t think about Bret much at all after that. He ignored him when he tried to accost him in the hallways and he let his eyes slide right past him when Bret glared when he and Betty were together. 

It wasn’t until December when he saw Betty whispering furiously to Bret that he bothered to acknowledge his existence. He slipped behind Bret, clearing his throat. Betty’s eyes went wide, her cheeks flushed and she glanced behind them, as if looking for anyone else who might have overheard them. 

“You look tense, Cooper. Is this guy bothering you?” 

Betty shook her head, gazing at him with pleading eyes. 

“We were just having a friendly conversation, Jones,” Bret said smoothly, straightening his shoulders. “Weren’t we, Betty?” 

“Yes,” she answered, her voice small. 

Jughead pulled his bottom lip into his mouth, narrowing his eyes at the interaction. He didn’t believe either of them but he knew Betty most likely wasn’t going to say anything in front of Bret. Or him for that matter. 

He tucked the interaction away for later and let the corner of his mouth curl up as he took her in. She looked particularly fetching that day with her ruffled collar and plaid skirt. 

“Come on, Cooper, I need your help with this math homework,” he offered, holding out a hand to her. “You know the only time I care about numbers is when they’re in the form of your phone number.” 

She inhaled sharply, giving Bret a hard stare before reluctantly taking his hand and letting him lead her down the hallway. When they were out of earshot, he leaned in close. 

“You’re not gonna tell me what that was about, are you?” 

Betty gave him a tight smile, her knuckles turning white with how hard she was clutching her books. “No.” 

He puffed out a breath of air, almost laughing. “I didn’t think so.” 

* * *

**January**

He heard the whispers within minutes of walking back into Riverdale High after Christmas break. Betty’s boyfriend had dumped her over the holidays. Or, at least, that was the rumor. 

Jughead was apt to believe it, though, when he caught sight of her in their first period, a concerned Veronica Lodge offering her a compact to powder her red nose. She caught his eye and turned her head down, sniffing into a handkerchief, shaking her head at him before he managed to even make his way towards her. 

Trying to talk himself out of immediately throwing himself on the ground before her, begging for a chance, he furrowed his brows with a sigh and made his way to his seat in the back of the classroom. 

Veronica’s narrowed and suspicious gaze followed him. She’d cornered him more than once since his fateful first day, telling him to stay away from Betty. He’d laugh in her face over it but he was also smart enough to worry that one of those rings of hers would leave a permanent mark if she clocked him one. 

Vowing to give her some space before trying to get her to give him a chance, he kicked his feet up on the empty desk in front of him, tapping a random rhythm on the book sitting unopened on its surface. 

* * *

“I’m sorry, you know,” he said, sliding next to her at the lunch table, setting his tray down and offering her the extra brownie he’d grabbed. 

“You’re sorry I got dumped?” She sounded dumbfounded. “You’ve been asking me out for months—” 

“Yeah, I know,” he sighed, waving the brownie at her until she took it from him. “Which was mostly me flirting, by the way, I knew you’d say no while you were seeing him. But I hate to see you sad.” 

“Well,” she said, clearing her throat and poked at her food with a fork, “it’s for the best, I guess.” 

“What happened?” 

“Do you really care?” she asked, her lower lip starting to tremble.

“If you’re asking if I care about your idiot boyfriend—”

“Ex-boyfriend.” 

“—then no, I don’t. I care about you, though, and if you want to talk about it, I’ll listen.” 

Betty nodded, her eyes focused on the brownie she’d set next to her lunch tray. “I waited all semester for him to come home for a visit. I sent letters and packages and we talked every week since he left.” 

Jughead stayed silent, listening intently. 

“He said he’d planned on breaking up with me for a while now, that he was seeing someone new.” 

Jughead cursed softly under his breath. “He’s a jerk, Betty.” 

“Yeah,” she whispered, stabbing a piece of potato. “I know. It doesn’t make me feel better though.” 

He bumped her shoulder with his, smiling at her when she looked over at him. “Want me to ask you out again? We can pretend we’ve been dating longer than he’s been dating whatever her name is—”

“Jughead.” 

“Think of the revenge it would be! I’ll call him myself, tell him all about how you let me kiss you at all of those football games I didn’t go to and how you wore my jacket over that peppy little cheer uniform you think I don’t dream about.” 

She laughed lightly, shaking her head at him. “You’re ridiculous.” 

“Maybe, maybe not.” 

Wiping her eyes discreetly, she balled up a napkin and bit her lip. “I feel stupid.” 

“You shouldn’t,” he said, reaching out to turn her face to his. “You’re the smartest girl I know.” 

“You’re only saying that so I’ll go out with you,” she huffed, poking his shoulder. 

“Well I’m not asking,” he informed her, picking up his own fork. “I’m not gonna be the mistake you make while broken-hearted.” 

Betty sniffed, peeking at him from the corner of her eye before nibbling on her brownie. “Good.” 

He smirked, pretending not to notice her watching him. “Good.” 

* * *

**February**

“Happy Valentine’s, doll,” he murmured, slipping a single pink rose into her hand. 

“What? No candy and heartfelt song?” Veronica asked sarcastically, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Jealous, Lodge?” he shot back, settling into the desk behind Betty in the English class. 

“Give me a break,” she muttered to herself. 

“Aren’t you dating some jock, anyway?” he quipped at her, leaning forward to twist the end of Betty’s ponytail around his finger. “Someone with “potential” as your parents would say?” 

“Why haven’t you punched him in his smug face, yet, Betty?” Veronica glared at him. “I’ll get Archie to do it if you want.” 

“He doesn’t mean anything by it,” Betty said, twisting the rose between her fingers. “If you wouldn’t give him a reaction, he’d probably stop.” 

“He hasn’t stopped asking you out—” 

“Hey,” he interrupted, snapping his fingers at her, “she’ll say yes one day.” 

“You sure about that?” Veronica asked, amused. 

Just as he opened his mouth to reply, the teacher walked in, the classroom falling silent and Veronica turned to wink at him when she caught his annoyed glare. 

* * *

Veronica caught him that afternoon in the library, shoving him back against the stacks. 

“Damn, Lodge, give a guy a break, would you?” 

“No,” Veronica said, glaring at him. 

“Tell me how you really feel, then,” Jughead replied, trying to appear unaffected by her aggression. 

“You’re gonna leave her alone, right? Until she’s not crying into her pillow over being humiliated and betrayed?” 

Jughead rolled his eyes, leaning back into the stacks casually. “Of course I am. I’m not looking to be someone’s rebound. Especially not Betty’s.” 

Veronica eyed him warily. “Why do you like her so much?” 

“Why do you?” he shot back with a contemptuous look. “I don’t need to explain myself to you.” 

“Maybe not,” Veronica agreed, crossing her arms. “But I’m keeping my eye on you.” 

“On the Sheriff’s kid?” Jughead asked with a laugh. “You and everyone else, Lodge.” 

* * *

**March**

“I was thinking you and I can go to the drive-in.” 

“I can’t,” she informed him primly. “I’ve got a date with Bret.” 

He took a deep breath before popping his gum loudly. “Is that right?” 

“Y-Yes,” she stuttered, her cheeks heating up at his proximity. 

“You know,” he said, leaning on his elbow against the wall next to her, “I think I’ll check it out myself, make sure Bret doesn’t try anything—” 

“Why would you do that? We’re not going steady.”

He smiled a slow smile at her before standing up straight and tilted her chin up. “Lucky for you, I don’t worry about technicalities.” Jughead looked around in the hallway before he grabbed her hand and pressed a swift kiss on her knuckles. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Glad he held in his temper before doing something stupid like yelling, he stalked off to the parking lot, his grip on the handles of his motorcycle almost painfully tight before kick-starting it and driving himself home to throw himself on his bed for a few hours before making a fool of himself by following Betty Cooper to the drive-in like the lovesick idiot he was. 

He knew Bret was up to something and he was determined to find out what it was. 

* * *

“What’s your problem?” Jellybean asked when he’d slammed the door the moment he walked through it. 

“Nothing.” 

“Oh,” Jellybean said, nodding. “Betty, then.”

“Shut up, Jelly.” 

“She say no again?” 

Jughead fell face first onto the sofa, dropping his helmet on the ground next to him. “She has a date.” 

“Not with you, I’m guessing by the state you’re in.” 

“No,” he barked, frustrated. “Not with me. With Bret the Prep of all people!” 

“Isn’t he that jerk that’s always staring at Betty even more than you do?” 

“Shut up, Jellybean!” he shouted, turning his face to side to look over at her, curled up with a book in the chair next to the sofa. “But yes.”

“Makes it worse, doesn’t it?” 

“So much worse!” 

* * *

He caught her by the concession stand, grabbing her wrist and dragging her around the corner of the building where he hadn’t seen anyone cross in at least a half hour, ignoring the sounds of the double feature playing in the background. 

“What are you doing?” Betty gasped, her hand coming up to her chest. 

“What are you doing here with Bret?” 

She looked down, folding her hands in front of her. “He asked me, Jughead.” 

“I ask you all the time! And you say nothing. You don’t say yes, you don’t say no, you give me an excuse or you say nothing at all,” he said lowly, stepping closer to her. 

Taking a step back, she bumped into the side of the building, eyes on his. “My parents arranged it.” 

“Your parents?” He scoffed at her. “Spare me, Betty.” 

She lifted her chin up at him defiantly. “Believe what you want.” 

“I believe you’ve been stringing me along, making yourself feel better after getting dumped and now the All American Prep finally asked you out and you can stop pretending there was a chance you were ever going to slum it with me.” 

“That’s not fair!” Betty cried, pushing against his chest. 

“I know that you have a type and you seem to be just as shallow as the losers you’re dating.” 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Jughead,” she said, voice angry. 

“Then tell me.” 

“I can’t.” 

“Is he what you want?” 

Betty stood still, staring up at him defiantly. “It doesn’t matter what I want.” 

“Yes,” he murmured, stepping closer to her, “it does.” 

“Jug,” Betty whimpered, falling back against the wall behind her, “don’t do this to me.” 

“Do what?” 

Closing her eyes, Betty rolled her head to the side, balling her hands into clenched fists. “You know what.” 

Leaning close, he rests on his arms, locking her into place. “You’ve already made me your fool, Betty, what more do you want from me?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Look at me,” he demanded, turning her face to him. 

Shaking her head, she tilted her chin down away from him. 

“Look at me.” 

He can hear her breath catch before she opened her eyes to meet his. 

“What do you want from me, Jughead?” she whispered brokenly, gripping the leather of his jacket tightly. 

“Elizabeth.” He nudged her chin up with a finger before stroking her cheek with his thumb. “I want _everything._ ” 

* * *

**April**

“So,” Jughead said, slipping an arm around her shoulders while leaving their English class, “ _Gone With the Wind_ , huh?” 

“What are you doing?” Betty asked, trying to slip free of his grip while looking behind her. “You’re lucky Bret isn’t here to see this.” 

He shrugged, ignoring her comment. “I was thinking, you can help me with the stupid paper on the book, I can help you with—”

“You don’t need help.” 

“No,” he conceded with an easy smile. “But how else am I supposed to get you alone?” 

Betty huffed, stomping her foot on his to escape his hold. “You’re not supposed to. That’s the point, Jughead.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, waving off her concern. “You, me, the library, what do you say?” 

“Bret won’t like that.” 

“You act as if I care about his opinion.”

Betty stopped, pulling him around a corner of a rarely used hallway. “You should. He’s got connections. His father—” 

“I know who his daddy is,” Jughead interrupted. “And as for him having connections? So do I.” 

Betty narrowed her eyes at him. “Your dad being the Sheriff isn’t enough—”

“I have better connections than that.”

“You’re going to get me in trouble, Jughead Jones.” 

He smirked at her, rocking back on his heels. “Only the good kind, I promise.” 

Pushing on his shoulder, she glared at him. “I’m serious. I don’t need Bret seeing me alone with you like that.” 

Sighing, Jughead let his head fall back and tried to stay patient. He took a deep breath and put his game face back on, walking towards her. 

“What’s he got on you?” 

Betty stiffened. Holding her books tightly to her chest she stuck her chin out defiantly. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

Sauntering closer, he shook his head at her. “Betty.” 

“Leave it, Jughead.” 

“I can’t.” 

“You can.” Betty brushed past him with a sniff. “And you will if you know what’s good for you.” 

Catching her wrist, he spun her around to face him. “I know what’s good for me.” 

“Are you sure about that?” 

He smirked again. “Yeah. I think I do.” 

Pulling free from his hold, she stepped back with a nod. “You know what I think is good for you?” 

“What’s that?” 

“Reading the book for our English assignment.” 

Breathing out a low laugh, he stalked forward, crowding her against a wall. “You know what I think?” 

Staying silent, she narrowed her eyes at him. He took her silence as an invitation to finger the curl of her ponytail before speaking. 

“I think you should be kissed and often.” He brushed his nose along her jawline, hearing her breath catch. “And by someone who knows how.” 

“You think that’s you?” 

“I know it is.” Jughead stepped back, gesturing to her that she was free to walk away. “But it won’t be today. I’m gonna kiss you one day, Betty, and when I do, it’ll be because your kisses are mine and mine alone.” 

“Big dreams,” she said, not meeting his eyes. 

He clenched his fists and looked at her imploringly. “It’s killing me to watch you with him. Is it killing you too?” 

Betty licked her lips, giving him a curt nod, her cheeks flushed. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from Bret.” 

He watched her walk away, her skirt swishing with the movement of her hips. 

“It’s like she doesn’t know me at all,” he muttered, planning on how he was going to find out what Bret was up to. Anything that made Betty as nervous as she’d been for the last couple months was something he wanted to know. 

* * *

**May**

“You know what’s funny, Jones?” he heard Bret ask and he almost groaned before closing his locker and turning around.

“What’s that?” 

“Me knowing how much you want my girl and that you’re never gonna get her,” Bret said smugly. 

“You sure about that?” Jughead asked, leaning back against his locker. “You know what I find funny?” He stood up straight, adjusting his leather jacket and tightening his grip on the helmet in his hand. “She might be your girl but she sure as hell doesn’t let you touch her, does she?” 

Bret’s face turned sour. “She’s a good girl.” 

“Good girls like to be kissed, Wallis. Maybe she just doesn’t want to be kissed by _you,_ ” Jughead quipped, laying a hand on his shoulder in a less than friendly pat as he walked past him. “What a bummer, man.” 

“Keep dreaming, Jones. That’s as close as you’re gonna get,” Bret called out to him, sounding disgustingly pleased with himself. 

“You too,” Jughead shouted back, waving a hand behind him without looking back. 

Jumping on his motorcycle, he made the turn that would take him to his house in case anyone was watching until he was out of sight, then flipped around and headed for Elm Street. Parking down the block from the Cooper house, he shut the bike off and sat back, thinking. 

He knew Bret was up to something. He just wasn’t sure what it was. What he did know, though, was that he couldn’t keep going around in circles with Betty. Putting up a good front had been getting harder and harder as the months wore on. He’d thought that after giving her space after her breakup, she’d give him a chance. 

He sighed loudly, pulling off his helmet, slipping his beanie out of his pocket and tugging it down over his hair. Without an idea of what he was going to do, he felt lost. Unmoored. 

In that moment, he wanted to go home to Ohio and try to forget the last nine months of his life. He knew that his mom wouldn’t let him back in the shop until he’d graduated, however, so he was stuck for at least another week. His grades had been good, he’d had nothing to do the whole year besides eat at Pop’s and be distracted by Betty Cooper. 

Checking his watch, he knew there was no way he’d be able to talk to her until her parents went to sleep. Deciding to kill time and his appetite, at Pop’s until then, he pushed his bike further out of view and closer to some trees, choosing to walk instead. 

He waited until it was dark to walk back to Elm Street. Then, he waited until the Cooper house went dark, praying he’d correctly figured out which one was Betty’s room. He felt doubt creeping in like he was about to make a mistake and she was about to tell him to kick rocks. 

* * *

Breathing in deeply, he ran his hands through his hair before looking up at the window he’d thought about climbing through all these months. The idea of throwing a handful of pebbles seemed like a good one until he realized he might break the glass and get himself in a world of unwanted attention. 

He didn’t want to make her life harder. He just wanted _her._ Part of him refused to accept that whatever it was that she and Bret had meant much of anything but the other part of him that had to watch them over the last few weeks had been wreaking havoc on his heart. 

Jughead spied a ladder leaning against the side of the garage and he sprinted over to it, trying to be as quiet as he could while also trying to secure it against the ground so he didn’t fall over while climbing it. 

He almost slipped once before getting to the top of the ladder, tapping on the glass insistently, quietly. The room flooded with a soft light and he held his breath and tightened his grip on the cold metal sides of the ladder, hoping she wasn’t about to push him to the ground. 

Her eyes widened when she pushed the curtains aside, seeing him standing there on the other side of her window. In a thin cotton nightgown, she stood there, shocked, with the shape of her visible through the thin fabric in the light and he kept his eyes firmly on hers, resisting the temptation to let them dart down to her chest. 

Pushing open the window, she looked down at him, confusion settling across her sleepy face. “What are you doing here?” 

Silently pushing his way through the window, he spun around to take her room in. Everything looked like the Betty Cooper he knew: light and pink; soft and feminine. 

“Jughead,” Betty said softly, almost beseechingly, repeating her previous question, “what are you doing here?” 

Staring, he had to stop himself from reaching for her. “I just need to know one thing.” 

Betty bit her lip, toes curling into the carpet. “What’s that?” 

“Can he do to you the things that I can do?” 

“What?” 

“If you’re happy, I’ll leave it alone, I promise. But I need to know,” Jughead told her, stepping forward, “if you’re happy with him. If he can make you feel like the way I think I can. Because I don’t think so, Betty. I don’t think so at all.” 

“That’s not what—” Cut off by a creaking sound, her eyes darted to the closed bedroom door and she puts her finger over his lips. “You need to be quiet. You’ll wake my parents up.” 

He quieted, but barely. “I’m leaving after graduation.” 

Betty gasped. “What?” 

“I’ve been eighteen for a while now, Betty. I could have left last October if I’d wanted to, but I didn’t.” 

“Why?” 

“You know why.” 

Sitting on the edge of her bed, her hair fell around her shoulders, hiding her face from him. He thought it was the first time he’d ever seen it down like that.

“I don’t want you to go,” she whispered, her shoulders lifting and falling in a careless motion. 

Dropping to his knees in front of her, he pushed the hem of her nightgown up and over her thighs and rested his forehead on the warm skin of her legs, twisting the cotton in his fingers. 

“I can’t stay here like this.” 

“I know,” she conceded, her fingers tangling in his hair. “It’s okay.” 

“I don’t want to leave you. I want to steal you away.” 

He hears her breath catch, her free hand settling on one of his. “I won’t blame you for leaving.” 

“I can’t,” he starts, hesitating before continuing, “I can’t share you.” 

“Jughead—”

“Just let me touch you, Betty,” he begged, burying his face further into the softness of her skin. “Just once.” 

He almost cried in frustration when her hands caught his, stopping him from pushing her nightgown up further. Exhaling heavily, he shuddered, pure sadness and despair washing over him. 

“Jughead, I need to tell you something.”

Jughead pulled back, sitting on his haunches with a sniff and waits for her talk. 

She took in a stuttered breath and wiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry.” 

“Sorry for what?” 

Reaching for him, she grabbed one of his hands, cradling it into her lap, intertwining their fingers. “Part of it is my fault, Jug, I didn’t mean for it to happen—”

“Your fault?” Jughead cut in, confused. Scrunching his brows together, he stared up at her, taking in the broken expression on her face. 

Betty nodded, wiping under her eyes with her free hand. “Do you remember in December, the week before break? You interrupted a conversation between Bret and I?” 

“Yeah,” Jughead replied warily. 

“He was asking me about you, wanting to know what I knew,” she continued, her head falling forward. “Which, I only told him the basics to get him off my back, you know?” 

“Like what?” 

“That you were born here but your parents moved to Ohio when you were a baby, that your dad and little sister came back after the divorce,” she said, playing with his fingers. 

“Is that all? That’s not much of anything, Betty,” he responded, squeezing her hand. 

“It was enough,” she muttered, tears slipping down her face. 

“Hey.” He leaned up, tracing a thumb over the apple of her cheek to wipe the tears away. “So he what? Knows I did some dumb stuff in Ohio? I think anyone could have guessed that—” 

“No,” Betty stopped him, her hand coming up to pull his off of her face. “It’s not about you, Jug, it’s your dad.” 

His eyes met hers sharply. “What?” 

“I don’t know how but he knows your dad was the leader of that gang—”

“The Serpents?” 

She nodded sadly, turning her head away from him. “Yeah. And he’s said he’s always wondered how a Sheriff got the job without getting elected.” 

Jughead huffed. “Me too.” 

“I just couldn’t let him destroy your family like that,” Betty said, her big green eyes boring into him. “So when he told me what he’d found out in March, he’d already asked my mom of all people if he could take me out, and I wasn’t left with much of a choice.” 

“He asked your mom?” 

Betty shrugged listlessly. “She loves him. He’s connected and has a bright future, according to her.” 

“Why wouldn’t you tell me this? We could have figured something out.” 

“Jug.” She looked at him seriously, scrunching her nose and shaking her head. “What would you have done? Punched him?” 

“First of all,” Jughead started, holding up a finger, “yes, I would have punched him. But after that, I would have thought of something.” 

“I’ve been digging,” she admitted, standing up and kneeling next to him, rifling under her mattress. 

“That’s my girl,” he murmured proudly, reaching to brush her hair off of her shoulder when she pulled out a folder and curled up next to him.

“See?” 

“How long did this take you?” he asked, flipping through it again, marveling at how much information she’d managed to get, biting back a laugh when he saw everything she’d managed to collect on the Wallis family. 

“Most of the spring,” she replied with a sigh. “I was going to give it to you this week but then—”

“Then I showed up at your bedroom window, telling you I was leaving because I can’t handle the idea of you with someone else?” 

“Yeah,” she agreed softly, picking at the hem of her nightgown. She fingered the corner of the folder still in his hand. “What are you going to do with that?”

“Not me,” he told her firmly, taking her hand to press a soft kiss to her wrist. “It’s what _we’re_ going to do.” 

* * *

“I’ll start working on the plan,” he told her a little while later as he got up, tucking the folder under his arm. 

“Jug,” Betty called quietly, catching his hand. 

He turned and looked at her, bathed in the dim light of her room with her bed rumpled hair and nervous expression, waiting for her to continue. 

“Jug,” she repeated, swallowing and tightening her hand around his. “Touch me.” 

“What?” He feels breathless, his knees weak. “Are you—” 

“I’m sure,” she promised, standing up and taking a step forward. “If you want to—” 

“Oh I want to,” he said, dropping the folder to the floor, already working his jacket off his shoulders. “From the moment I saw you.” 

Betty smiled shyly. “You have to be quiet.” 

“So do you,” he whispered, running his hands through her hair and pushing it back before cupping her face and leaning down to kiss her for the first time. 

He swallowed the gasp she let out, taking the chance to run his tongue along her lips before slipping it in her mouth, tasting her. He wanted to groan loudly and push her up against a wall, sliding his thigh between her legs to show her what he could do without even using his hands but he held back. 

He felt her nails digging into his side and he smiles against her mouth. Walking her backwards, he laid her gently on the bed when the backs of her knees hit it. Her hands flew to his hair and she pushed the beanie off and onto the floor so she could twist her fingers in the strands, pulling him further onto her. 

Hands drifting to the hem of her nightgown, he worked it up and over her hips, pulling it off to toss gently behind him. He sat back, taking her in. Barely able to take his eyes off her, he’s shocked when she sits up, tearing at his shirt, almost willing it to come off. 

He swallowed a shocked laugh when she yanked the cotton over his head, her hands immediately running over his chest, mapping the planes of it before she pulled him down into another kiss. 

“Impatient,” he teased, nipping her lower lip. 

“I’ve been waiting to kiss you for months,” she said against his mouth, her arms wrapping around his neck. “It’s been torture.” 

“Are you serious?” he asks, choking on his disbelief. “Do you know how long I’ve had to wait?” 

She fell back with a sigh, waving him off. “That’s not my fault. I can’t be held responsible for having a boyfriend before I knew you existed.” 

Distracted by the long line of her body, he ran his hands around the curve of her breasts before he replied. “You sure about that?” 

With an almost believable look of contrition, Betty sat up on her elbows, staring at him with pouting eyes. “I’m so sorry, Jughead. Will you forgive me?” 

The near sincerity of her voice had him biting back a smile and she broke into a fit of giggles, clapping her hands over her mouth to stay quiet. He let himself fall over her, catching himself on his hands before he crushed her into the mattress and ran his nose softly across her cheek. 

“I thought you told me to be quiet?” He gently bit her earlobe, giving it a slow suck before pulling back. “That you didn’t want me to wake your parents up.” 

She nodded and pulled her lower lip into her mouth, her eyes laughing at him.

“You don’t even follow your own rules, do you?” he whispered, nosing her head to the side so he could trail a line of soft kisses along her neck. 

He felt her shake her head and he smiled into her skin. With a nip to her collarbone, he let more of his weight fall on her, pushing his hips into hers, satisfied with the gasp that escaped her. Her breasts were pushed up against him when she arched her back, moving to hold onto his shoulder blades. 

“I’m going to touch you, Betty,” he promised, kissing further down her chest, ghosting his hands over the beads of her nipples, thrilled with the low moan that fell out of her mouth. “Has anyone ever touched you before?” 

She blinked at him and shook her head again. He felt his pulse quicken at the thought, his concentration returning to the kisses he’d been pressing against her stomach. Plucking the band of her white cotton panties with his teeth, he grinned when it snapped back against her stomach, startling her. 

“I’m going to take these off,” he informed her, giving her time to tell him no if she’d wanted to. “And then—”

“Then what?” she interrupted, her voice breathy and light. 

“Then,” he continued with a soft pinch of her thigh in reprimand for cutting him off, “I’m going to touch you.” 

“Just touch?” 

Pulling the fabric down over her hips, he ran his fingertips down the long line of her legs, standing to help her when she started trying to kick them off when they reached her ankles. Smirking at her impatience, he kneeled at the edge of the bed and took the fabric in hand, throwing them behind him. He reached for her hips and pulled her to the edge of the bed before grabbing her by the backs of her knees to spread her legs open before him.

“Just touch, baby,” he said, watching her skin flush. “We have plenty of time for the rest of it.” 

He kissed the inside of her thigh and her legs jolted as a shudder ran through her.

“That’s more than touching,” she said quietly, her knees trying to close around his head. 

“I never specified what part of me was gonna be doing the touching, doll.” 

The palms of his hands glided up her legs to hold her hips down, his eyes meeting hers over the plane of her stomach. Her heavy breathing betrayed her nervousness and he nuzzled his face against her leg, trying to soothe her anxiousness. 

“You okay?” he asked, kissing her thigh again. 

“Yes,” she answered in a small voice. 

He tugged her a little closer to him, relaxing his grip on her just a bit and working her legs over his shoulders. “You tell me to stop if you want me to.” 

He heard her whispered okay and he leaned into her, his tongue sliding over her clit for the first time. Her muffled gasp was the only sound in the room when he did it again. And again. Her toes curled into his back and her hands flew to his hair, holding on when her hips bucked and her legs started to shake. 

The desire to slip a finger into the wet warmth of her tempted him so badly he groaned into her skin with the effort to keep his hands still. He knew she wasn’t ready for that yet. When one of her hands found his, he intertwined their fingers, her knuckles turning white with the effort to stay quiet with each pass of his tongue on her slit. Arching her back, she let go of his hair to bite a fist in the effort to stay quiet. 

He knew she was close when her body started trembling, the effort to hold it in making her muscles contract, the lines of her body going taut with release. Jughead rubbed soothing circles on her hips as she calmed down, his soft shhh reminding her where they were. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, crawling back up on the bed. He pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her hair. 

Betty only nodded, burrowing closer to him as he moved to get them both under the blankets of her bed.

Betty giggled and he looked down at her in question. 

“You have your boots on,” she whispered, breaking out into another fit of giggles. 

He watched her face light up with laughter and he could help but join her. 

“Next time, I’ll be sure to take them off.” 

“Next time?” she questioned, tucking her head under his chin, holding onto him. 

“You didn’t think I was going to let you go after this, did you?” Jughead kissed her forehead and relaxed back into her headboard. “You’re mine now, Elizabeth.” 

“I think I love you, Jughead.” 

“That’s good,” he murmured into her hair. 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” he agreed, tightening his hold on her. “Because I know I love you.” 

* * *

**Now**

“You sure about this?” his dad asked, Jellybean standing behind him. 

Nodding, Jughead gave him a hug first before hugging Jellybean and telling her to be good. 

“Why are you leaving?” she grumbled, looking down at the floor. “I’ve almost gotten used to you and now you’re just taking off?” 

“I need to, Jelly.” 

“Is this about Betty?” Jellybean crossed her arms and stared up at him. “Because if it is, I’ll talk to her—” 

“Betty Cooper?” FP cut in, confused. “You’re leaving because of the Cooper girl?” 

“It’s a long story,” Jughead sighed out, giving Jellybean a glare. 

FP furrowed his brow and rubbed a hand over his cheek. “You didn’t get her in trouble, did you?” 

A shocked laugh fell out of Jughead’s mouth before he could stop it. “What?” 

“If you did, you can’t be running away—” 

“I did not knock Betty up!” 

“You swear?” 

Jughead stared at his dad in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’d think I’d do that and leave her behind.” 

“Yeah,” Jellybean added, looking smug. “Besides if he did, he’d be at her house on his knees, begging for her to marry him.” 

“Jelly,” Jughead warned, raising an eyebrow at her. “That’s enough.” 

“So,” FP started, still confused, “what’s the problem?” 

“I—”

A loud knocking cut him off and he shrugged helplessly at his dad before turning to answer it. 

“Right on time,” Jughead quipped, pulling the door open with a sarcastic smile ready. 

“Jones,” Bret’s terse voice met him and Jughead smiled wider. 

“Wallis! So good of you to show,” he said, gesturing for him to come inside. 

Bret stepped past him stiffly, nodding at FP and Jellybean before spinning towards Jughead. 

“Bret, here, Dad,” Jughead started to explain, “thinks he can blackmail Betty into dating him. Can you believe that?” 

“What?” FP asked, shocked. “What are you talking about?” 

Jughead shut the door with a resounding click, making Bret jump. He smiled sharply, not bothering to explain further to his dad before he kept talking. “Did you think I’d never find out?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bret said stiffly. 

“Funny thing,” Jughead continued. “Is that when you threaten someone, you might want to make sure they’re not smarter than you.” 

Bret glared at him. “Smarter than me? You?” 

“I wasn’t talking about me, but I’ll be sure to let Betty know what you think of her intelligence.” 

Bret looked taken aback, looking between a confused FP, an enraptured Jellybean, and a smirking Jughead. 

“Jug,” FP warned. 

“Sorry.” Jughead walked over to the bag he’d packed and pulled out the file Betty had given him. “Here you go.” 

“What’s this?” 

“An insurance policy,” Jughead explained. “You see, back in the spring, Bret used information about us to strongarm Betty into dating him—”

“That’s why she kept saying no!” Jellybean shouted, jumping up and down, hanging onto FP’s arm. 

Jughead touched his nose and pointed at her. “Turns out, for all the things you’ve done wrong, Dad, you’ve got nothing on Mr. Wallis.” 

Bret paled, his fists clenching. “You don’t know anything.” 

“I know that that folder has records of money laundering and pictures of your dad kissing someone that doesn’t look like Mrs. Wallis.” 

“Liar,” Bret hissed, reaching for the folder in FP’s hand. 

FP pulled it back out of his reach, slowly flipping through it again. 

“What do you want?” Bret asked, swallowing nervously. “Money? A college recommendation?” 

“Jughead,” FP said softly, “what’s your goal here?” 

“It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.” Jughead stared at Bret, his eyes narrowed. “You stay quiet, we stay quiet.” 

“That’s it?” 

“And you leave Betty alone.” 

Bret stiffened. “Fine. She’s already gone anyway, left to visit her sister for the summer before college.” 

Jellybean wilted in his periphery. FP sighed and patted his shoulder, tucking the folder under his arm and opening the front door for Bret. He bolted through it without looking back, leaving the Jones family silently looking at one another for a moment. 

Jughead called out, stopping Bret before he got off the front porch. 

“What now, Jones?” Bret asked warily, turning around. 

Curling his fingers into a fist, Jughead sent a right hook into Bret’s nose, hearing Jellybean cheering in the background and his dad calling his name. Shaking his hand out, he scoffed at Bret’s injured wailing, ignoring him to walk back into the house, shutting the door behind him. 

“I’m sorry, Jug,” FP said when Jughead exhaled heavily and leaned against the front door. “I know you liked her.” 

“Yeah,” he agreed, accepting a hug from Jellybean. “I do.” 

“And you’re sure leaving is the right thing to do?” 

“It is. I don’t think Riverdale is the town for me.” 

“What about college?” FP inquired. 

“I’ve heard rumors of them existing outside of New York,” Jughead said, giving his sister a tight squeeze before letting her go. “And someone needs to keep an eye on Mom, don’t you think?” 

FP laughed. “Yeah. Someone ought to.” 

Picking up his bag, he slipped it over his shoulder and tugged on Jellybean’s ponytail with a smile. “You can always leave the old man and come live with Mom and me.” 

Jellybean sniffed, wiping a hand under her nose. “He’ll never eat right if I do that.” 

“True,” he replied as his dad muttered about being an adult behind them. “Don’t forget to write.” 

Jellybean nodded and stepped back into FP, grabbing onto his hand. Opening the door, he huffed, turning around to lean on the doorway. 

“How did you become Sheriff without an election?” he asked, crossing his arms. 

FP touched his nose before pointing at him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” 

Laughing, Jughead shook his head and waved goodbye to them, taking a deep breath before closing the door behind him, staring at his bike sitting on the street. It was a long drive to Ohio and he was almost looking forward to it. Jogging down the porch steps, he looked both ways down the street before walking slowly towards his bike. 

“Can I help you?” 

Betty was smiling widely with a small pink bag in her hands. “Someone once told me I should be kissed and often. And by someone who knows how.” 

“Sounds like a smart guy.” 

“He likes to think so.” 

“Do I know him?” 

Betty looked up at him through her lashes. “Maybe. I was hoping to catch a ride with him.” 

Smirking, he dropped his bag on the ground to pull her against him, kissing her deeply. “You’re just gonna go with this guy out of town?” 

“Him?” Betty wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning back with a smile. “Yeah, I’d follow him. For forever and a day.”

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god, someone call the cheese police, I am ready to be taken away. Yeah, I know. I’m schmaltzy. Meh, I’m okay with it for the most part. 
> 
> LISTEN, THEY’RE IN LOVE, YOUR HONOR. 🥺
> 
> Anyways, I really do want to know what you think. Unless it’s about my hair. I’m still mourning the bad haircut I got a couple of weeks ago and I’m a little fragile, okay? Okay. That and I can’t feel my fingers, toes, or nose because I have one of those stupid Nest thingies and it keeps going out? And I have been expressly forbidden from taking it apart and trying to fix it by the mister. 
> 
> It’s like he knew I was gonna try. 
> 
> Also, I forgot to put his tools back so I got busted anyway. Rude. 
> 
> Where the hell was I going with this? Huh. I have no idea. Oh, yeah. Basically the only things I can feel right now is my feelings so let’s all hug it out. 
> 
> Bughugs for us all. 
> 
> Anyways, what I mean is (let’s all say it together): Besos! Besos to you and yours and his and hers and them and theirs! 
> 
> As always you can [tumble](https://thetaoofbetty.tumblr.com/) with me if you want.


End file.
